Life in the West Bank
BY: AMJAD M. DWIKAT
Amjad is a mechanical engineering student at An Najah University. Â This is the first solo video project for Amjad, who is hoping to combine his engineering work with his interests in the media and the environment. Â He plans to continue his education after a few years of work.
“Traffic Accidents†In Occupied Palestine: Another Form Of Zionist Terrorism
By Reham Alhelsi
Writer Visits MCC, Argues to Vindicate Palestine Perspective
By Katherine Friedman
Daily Nexus, University of California, Santa Barbara
Joint Statement on Anti-Defamation Leagues “Top 10†List
By Students for Justice in Palestine
Margolyes: West End to West Bank
BBC interviews Miriam Margoyles (Harry Potter’s Professor Sprout)
Why Palestine Matters
By Lubna Safi
Indiana Daily Student
CPTnet Digest
A newsletter written by members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams
5 November 2010
SOUTH HEBRON HILLS: Israeli Army arrests young Palestinian man in South Hebron Hills
[Note: According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the International Court of
Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and
outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most
settlement outposts, including Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), are illegal under
Israeli law.]
On the morning of Saturday, 30 October 2010, around 10:30 a.m., Israeli
soldiers arrested a young Palestinian man from the village of Tuba, in the
South Hebron Hills, who had been filming Israeli soldiers chasing two young
Palestinian shepherds from Tuba.
The two shepherds, accompanied by internationals of Operation Dove (the
nonviolent corps of the Italian organization Community Pope John XXIII), were
watching their flocks in the Umm Zeitouna area, on private Palestinian land.
Around 10:00 a.m., a group of Israeli activists from Ta’ayush joined the
internationals accompanying the shepherds. After about ten minutes, three
military jeeps and two armored cars from Israeli army, the DCO (District
Coordination Office of the Israeli military) and Israeli police arrived,
surrounding the whole area. After a few minutes, Israeli soldiers came down
from the hilltop into the valley, chasing the two Palestinian shepherds, who
ran quickly toward their village.
Israeli activists and internationals tried to speak with soldiers, explaining, that the two shepherds were on Palestinian-owned land and, according to Israeli law, it is illegal to prevent Palestinians from accessing their land.
Nevertheless, the Israeli army continued chasing shepherds until they reached Tuba village as the young Palestinian man, who was working for Israeli human rights organization B’tselem, videotaped the action.
Soldiers then surrounded the Palestinian, detained him, and forced him to follow them to the Israeli-only bypass road, preventing him from answering his cell phone. They then took the young man to a military base close to the nearby Susiya settlement, detaining him for five hours.
After his release, the Palestinian told internationals he was blindfolded and handcuffed for a long time, and refused permission to make phone calls.  None of the soldiers were able to speak Arabic and they were not willing to speak with him in English.
Operation Dove and Christian Peacemaker Teams have maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.
CPTnet Digest, Volume 35, Issue 1
A newsletter written by members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams
29 October 2010
AL-KHALIL (HEBRON): Shepherd made homeless, livelihood threatened, son in prison.
On Monday 11 October, at 8.00 a.m. the Israeli military arrived at the home
of Noah al-Rajabi in Bani Naim without warning and destroyed the family’s
water cistern, tent, and a small wooden structure family members used for
cooking and storage.
Al-Rajabi told CPTers, who visited after the incident, that soldiers kicked
and beat some of the animals and that one pregnant ewe aborted. Â When his
fourteen-year-old son objected to their actions, soldiers arrested him,
accusing him of “obstructing the military” and scratching a soldier’s
face.
Ten weeks earlier, the Israeli military demolished al-Rajabi’s house. His
wife and the younger of his seven children now live in two rented rooms in
Hebron. Al-Rajabi and his oldest son remained in a tent supplied by the Red
Cross, so that they could continue working with his flock.
CPTers met al-Rajabi in Hebron on 12 October. He did not know where his son
was being held, or where he could get water for his animals. They
accompanied him to three Israeli police stations. The only information
Israeli police gave them was that his son was being held in Ofer military
prison. They refused to accept a complaint against the Israeli soldiers for
their behaviour.
CPTers also visited Al-Rajabi’s rented accommodation in Hebron where they
met his wife and some of his other children. “Please bring my son
home,” his wife pleaded with them.
Al-Rajabi’s brother has been watching his sheep and goats, and has moved
them to another hillside where there is water. Agencies in Hebron are
trying to reconnect Noah’s water supply, but the cistern will have to be
rebuilt, and will run the risk of demolition in the future.
For further information on the imprisonment of Palestinian minors by the
Israeli military, please refer to the annual reports of Defence for Children International (Palestine).
My friend Ayyash took me on a tour of Balata Camp, the refugee camp where he lives only minutes from downtown Nablus.
Here, in 2 square kilometers, live 28,000 people, said Ayyash.
He said that the unemployment rate is 70%. Â Those who are employed, often work in shops inside the camp. Â Most of the refugees are educated, finishing high school and college, but very few move out because of the cost of relocating.
Only when public officials visit to see the conditions of the camp are the streets cleaned. Â We walked through tiny alleys that left no room for people to pass eachother.
Settlements surrounding Balata Camp.
All the homes are connected and there’s no room to build out, only up.
Kids playing soccer.
More info about Balata Camp:
Behind the Walls of Balata Camp
BY: HAYA SH. YASSIN
Haya is studying journalism at An Najah University in Nablus, West Bank. In January 2011, she will begin her M.A. in Filmmaking at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Here is her latest video from Nablus.
Warm, gooey kunafeh, an expansive new university campus and a vibrant Old City.
I spent many Sundays in Zababdeh since July 2010, celebrating with Fr. Firas and his congregation at St. George Melkite Church. Â Though the services were in Arabic, a few things were still familiar: the rhythm of prayers, the passing of peace and the children staying occupied by giggling and playing games in the back of the church. Â I quickly became accustomed to a service filled with rose-flavored incense, sermons I couldn’t understand and communicating in semi-sign language.
Below are a few of my favorite memories from Zababdeh.
To see my other stories from Zababdeh go to:
Sweatshop in Zababdeh only choice for some women
Get your hands dirty in Zababdeh
Experience the Holy Land with the Living Stones
When I hear the cadence of a drum squad, my heart skips a beat remembering my days in marching band at Dallastown High School. I loved marching through the parking lot to the football field to the beat of the school’s cadence.
Today, while walking through downtown Nablus, I heard the enticing sound of drums coming from the main square. I quickly changed my afternoon plans and hastened to the square, where I found myself in the midst of a Freedom Rally. Everyone was holding signs protesting Palestinian imprisonment in Israeli jails.
Children from many different schools were marching around the square in their uniforms. Mothers held framed photographs of their imprisoned sons. Music played and a stage hosted a few speakers. Downtown Nablus was packed like figs in a basket and the place was thumping with energy.
As I weaseled my way through the crowd to capture videos, I noticed something different about the subjects of my photos. Usually people give me strange looks when I ask to make a video of them. Sometimes they ask, “why?†Today, the women holding Palestinian flags and photographs of their sons looked me in the eye and nodded, as if to say what many in Nablus have said before, “Take this photo and show it to everyone you know.â€
Please watch the video clips from the rally in Nablus today.
Today I sat in an auditorium full of Nablusi’s and Internationals, all watching the film To Shoot an Elephant, about the Israeli siege on Gaza. To my right, was my friend Ayyash, an activist who lives in Balata Camp. He translated some things for me and, having seen the movie a few times before, predicted some of the most horrific scenes as I shook with tears.
Watching a movie about Gaza while in the West Bank is surreal. The Palestinians sitting next to me cannot go to Gaza, and it would be extraordinarily difficult for me to get in. They are blocked by highways they cannot use, randomly erected checkpoints, machine guns wielded by 18-year-old Israeli’s with dreadlocks, an enormous wall, an identity card that clearly delineates where they are and are not allowed to go.
Today Netanyahu announced that the moratorium on settlement building would not be extended. I heard Palestinians talk about whether this would bring a third intifada. I heard about escalated violence. I felt the walls surrounding the people I love close around us.
Their land has slowly been taken away for years. My country has helped fund this. And now, though America is the top funder of the Israeli occupation, we seem to believe we can lead peace talks between Israel and Palestine. Â I wait in anticipation from the West Bank.
I have witnessed the occupation.
Palestinians have a different colored license plate than Israeli’s. The white plates can only drive on designated roads. The yellow plates can go anywhere. This is an occupation.
The other evening my friend pointed out the Mediterranean Sea in the distance. “We cannot go there, of course,†she said. Another friend remembered going there back in 1998. Though it’s about 2 kilometers away, Palestinians do not have access to the coast. This is an occupation.
I went to dinner at a friend’s house and watched olive trees burn. Settlers had set fire to them. The Israeli army drove by and did nothing. This is an occupation.
Since I’ve been here, four residents of Iraq Burin, a village a few minutes from Nablus, have been arbitrarily arrested. Two of them young men, and two of them village council members. The people in this village are farmers. They have lived there for years. Israeli’s have stolen their land, burned their trees, and recently killed two of the young men in the village (16 and 19).  This is an occupation.
One of my 16-year-old students was late for class because a surprise checkpoint was erected on the way from her home to school. This is an occupation.
Yesterday my boyfriend had to run away from soldiers. This is an occupation.
One of my friends was arrested last week for being affiliated with Hamas. He’s in a PA prison in Nablus, but I don’t know when he’ll get out. Maybe, hopefully, in a few days. This is an occupation.